OFCs are not information black-holes, says Cayman attorney
Mr.
Walton and other offshore practitioners will go into detail about the
legal information gateways that exist in OFCs during a session entitled
'Offshore but not Off-Limits: How Fraud Victims Can Obtain Relief in
OFCs' at The OffshoreAlert Conference. |
March 3, 2011 -
It
seems to be a commonly-held belief in the world's major countries that
Offshore Financial Centers are impenetrable fortresses when it comes
to obtaining information for criminal and civil investigations.
But the opposite is reality, said Jeremy Walton, a Cayman Islands-based partner of prominent offshore law firm Appleby.
"It
is a myth that offshore financial centers are information black-holes
and that it is practically impossible to obtain information or relief
for the victims of fraud," he told OffshoreAlert.
"The
myths of secrecy in offshore jurisdictions are debunked by a
consideration of the practical remedies and relief available from
offshore courts to obtain information and freeze assets for the purpose
of pursuing fraud claims."
As
an example, he cited The Confidential Relationships (Preservation) Law
in the Cayman Islands, which he described as a "particularly
misunderstood" tool for information-gatherers. Its principal purpose is
not for service providers to attempt to avoid disclosing information,
as some seem to believe, but, said Walton, "to protect service providers
against breach of confidence claims by their clients who are alleged
of fraud, with the court's oversight of the disclosure process".
Offshore
Financial Centers stand up well in comparison with big countries when
it comes to obtaining information, said Mr. Walton.
"OFCs
not only have adopted the same legal mechanisms which were created in
onshore centers like London, their courts have gone even further to
develop stronger and more sophisticated remedies for deserving
claimants," he said.
"OFCs
have recognized that the 'post-sale service' which must be provided to
purchasers of offshore products extends to the quality of the court
system and the ability to obtain swift justice when those products are
used as vehicles for fraud (or any other wrongdoing).
"For
example, in some OFCs a claimant can obtain a free-standing
asset-freezing injunction which may not be available in either the UK
or the USA."
Mr.
Walton and other offshore practitioners will go into detail about the
legal information gateways that exist in OFCs during a session entitled
'Offshore but not Off-Limits: How Fraud Victims Can Obtain Relief in
OFCs' at
The 9th Annual OffshoreAlert Conference, which will be held at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach in Florida on April 4-6, 2011.
Quick! Time's a wastin'! View the full Program here, and Register by 11:59 PM EST on March 11, 2011 for a chance to
WIN the iPad 2.
 |
